


Freedom on the High Seas

by Statari



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Beach Sex, Character Study, KiddWay - Freeform, M!Kidd, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-24
Updated: 2013-11-24
Packaged: 2018-01-02 12:47:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1056937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Statari/pseuds/Statari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The devil had surely cursed him with the enigma of James Kidd, who sauntered about with the intentions of an angel but the grin of a demon.  But more than anything, James Kidd could see a man for who he really was.</p><p>This features James Kidd as a man.  I like Mary too, but these men were crying out for an opportunity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> These two men just wouldn't leave me alone until I gave them a proper opportunity to express themselves. It was challenging getting into the mindset of a pirate. I wanted the dialogue to sound correct. Hopefully it all worked out.
> 
> The sex is in the second chapter, so if you feel that makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to read it. It's almost as good without it ;)

The devil had surely cursed him with the enigma of James Kidd, who sauntered about with the intentions of an angel but the grin of a demon. He was small but solid, skilled enough to put Edward on defense in an effort to keep up with him. He could scale a building in the blink of an eye and cross an entire forest without ever touching the ground. Edward could do it too, if he was concentrating, but James Kidd was a natural if one ever existed.

Perhaps it was because James Kidd had only ever wanted to follow his father’s footsteps and be free upon the waves. He’d been aboard ships as long as Edward had, but at a far younger age. When they got together, things always seemed to work out, the two of them fighting easily as part of a team. And, most importantly, James Kidd understood why being a pirate was so important to Edward. James felt it too. He could see it in the shine of joy on his face when their ships passed one another by. He could see it in the anger he felt when they had been offered their lives in exchange for service to the crown. James Kidd definitely understood.

But, for some reason, James was also intent on serving his own kind of master. These assassins. It didn’t make any sense for someone as clever, powerful, and free as James to willingly submit himself to people who thought they knew how the world should be run. They were as bad as these Templars that kept insisting on eradicating pirates. The Caribbean was supposed to have been a place where men could live free of the laws of other men. A place where men could govern only themselves.

The changes being wrought upon his waters made Edward uncomfortable. He lived as well as he could, taking ships and paying his crew. Day by day their skills increased, as did their wealth. But if the day should come where the Jackdaw had to face down the might of the British navy, the Jackdaw would surely sink and no amount of upgrades would be able to change that. Edward feared that some day in the future, he would have to sail for the horizon once more and find the next lawless place to make his fortune.

None of this impending doom changed the fact that James Kidd understood him for exactly who he was, but still seemed to be reaching for something else. Something more. Edward couldn’t live up to those expectations. He didn’t want to. He was beholden to no man.

Except for, perhaps, the man leaning against the bar with a knowing glint in his eye. Edward lifted his mug to him and nodded briefly. At the subtle invitation, James came over across the deck and joined him at his table, lit by a single lantern hanging by a hook over their heads.

“Alright there, Kenway? There seem to be clouds on your horizon.”

Edward leaned back and eyed the kid, who blithely took a sip of his own ale. What was he after? Did he expect Edward to describe to him the color of his soul? No, Edward decided. James wasn’t after anything of the sort. He asked about Edward in a friendly, curious way but he had a patient posture that seemed to be content enough to share companionable silence and an ale or two. That’s what made it so easy to talk to him. That’s what made Edward curious about taking him up on his offer to show him a better way. It made him curious but not seriously interested. He couldn’t live with the expectations that would lay upon him. These days, James would watch him critically, like he knew Edward could do better and it hurt a bit to be in that position. It could never compare to the way he’d feel if he tried and failed to meet James’s standards of how a man should be.

“I’m fine,” Edward replied shortly. He took a swig of ale, emptied the mug, and raised his hand to order another from the barkeep.

A wench noticed his wave and intercepted his ale. She brought it over though, so Edward didn’t complain. Her dress had never been nice, but it hugged her curves and pushed her breasts up and together in a lovely view, especially when she leaned over to place his mug on the table. Edward looked and objectively enjoyed it but he wasn’t really in the mood. She smelled sickly sweet with cheap perfume that only barely masked the sour note of sweat. He hit her on the rump and flipped a coin into her hands but didn’t give her a second glance as she walked off without a night’s business. Instead, he looked out over Kidd’s shoulder and thought of fresh sea air.

“I know a place we could go,” James offered. “An island nearby with abundant hunting and no people.”

Edward cut a glance back at James, wondering if he’d been so obvious. He doubted it. James was perceptive enough to look past all the bullshit and see a man for what he truly was. Edward shrugged in acquiescence, together they finished their ale and made their way to the Jackdaw. Edward tried not to think about what James’s perception meant when he insisted Edward was better than he acted. Surely the boy couldn’t be right all the time.

The night watch he’d assigned for shore leave was surprised to see him arrive with Kidd in tow but they were all too happy to join their shipmates ashore. They didn’t question what Edward wanted with the ship in the middle of the night with a fellow captain. They didn’t care. At this point, they were grateful to go the tavern to drink and whore the night away. The perfect end to a long day and a successful capture of a Spanish schooner.

Edward stood at the helm of the Jackdaw and steered her out of port while James climbed about the rigging, setting their sails. Once they were clear of the rocks, they opened up and sailed with speed to the east where James’s island was. Edward leaned against the railing and looked out over the empty deck of the Jackdaw, glowing pale in the light of the moon. The ocean stretched out on all sides, rippled with quiet energy.

There was a thud beside him. He glanced over to see James standing at ease, having just dropped over ten feet from the rigging above their heads. He grinned. That’s what he liked about James.

“How long do you think?” he asked. He didn’t care, though. The trip was just an excuse to escape port and be at ease, free on the waves.

“An hour or two if the wind remains in our favor.”

Edward closed his eyes and savored the sound of James’s accent. There were so many different voices out here where men came to be free but James’s was his favorite by far. The silence that followed, broken only by the gently slosh of the Jackdaw in the water and the creak of the deck, was his second favorite sound the Caribbean had to offer. Or perhaps they were both his favorite because one was only poignant because of the other, and how well they balanced one another.

They sailed in silence for most of the time, standing side by side watching the reflective waters slide by. Each spoke only when necessary, to order a trim of the sails or to adjust their course. It was an easy trip, the easiest Edward had had since getting the Jackdaw. Before long, the shadow of the island loomed closer. It was a black shape against the star-speckled sky. The let the anchor down off shore a ways and stood side by side perched on the railing looking out at the beach.

From here, if they wanted to go hunting, they would have to lower the long boat and row to shore. Edward stared out over the water and then glanced at his friend. James was looking at him already but when they made eye-contact, James grinned playfully. He was over the side of the ship in a heartbeat. He fell in a neat arc towards the water and went in with a subdued splash. Edward laughed. He couldn’t help himself and the merry, delighted noise took over his whole body. James could look and see a man for what he truly was. Edward followed him into the water without so much as a pistol to keep up their ruse.

He came up for air after his dive but was immediately plunged back after only a breath. He could feel hands on his head and churning water behind him from James’s moving feet. Edward twisted in amusement and wrapped his arms around one of the legs, stilling its movement and forcing James to plunge underwater as well. 

Edward released him and kicked to the surface. They broke through at the same time, pushing water-logged hair from their eyes and grinning like loons. 

“Truce?” Edward asked.

“For now,” James agreed. 

They swam towards shore in silence. Edward had no doubt that they were even for the moment but their play would resume once they’d reached shallow water.

It felt like paradise when the got to shore. The white sand of the beach was bright, reflecting moonlight back at them. The trees were blacker than the sky, darker than ocean waters. Birds could be heard calling out in the night. Small animals whooped and went silent. James Kidd took off his red headband and wrung it out, causing a smattering of wet sand on the otherwise dry, clean beach. His wet hair fell about his face in disarray, making him seem oddly informal. They were pirates that didn’t stand on ceremony so the notion that anything would seem either formal or informal was a strange one to Edward. But that didn’t stop the feeling that this was a special moment because very few people probably ever saw James Kidd without the armor of his captaincy. Edward became determined to see all of it stripped away so he could see James for the man he truly was.

“Let’s make a fire,” he offered. His voice was rough with the sudden desire to have James revealed as he himself so often felt. He walked towards the tree line and scrounged for wood to fuel their fire. There was dry windfall a plenty. He need only to gather it and bring it back to the beach.

James had gathered dry grass and twigs as tinder for the fire and he’d managed to get the pile to start smoldering with his flint and steel. Edward dropped his load and moved off to find more. He wanted to make sure they’d have enough fuel for the night. He didn’t fancy coming back after they’d gotten warm and dry by the fire. He intended on focusing his attention entirely for the rest of the night and didn’t want to get distracted.

Shortly they had a small but respectable fire going that was enough to keep just the two of them plenty warm. Edwards skin began to itch as the salt water dried his clothes and left sand clinging to him. He brushed off the sand on his arms and legs but his shirt was a different matter. He pulled it over his head and laid it out on a rock to dry out. James only spared him a brief glance at the motion and went back to looking into the fire. 

He’d snap small sticks into pieces and only when they were too small to snap again, he’d throw them into the fire. 

“What’s on your mind?” Edward asked.

James looked over at the question, his face fairly blank. It was the look of a man at peace, not the look of a man trying to hide something. “Nothing,” James said.

With a satisfied grin, Edward twisted and stretch out flat on his back in the sand warmed by the fire. “Wonderful isn’t it?”

James laid back too, their heads next to one another. The sky was washed out by the light of their fire and Edward could only see an orange glow that faded out to a dark grey. A shame they could no longer see the stars but he wasn’t interested in freezing to death or being attack by a jaguar. He could hear them growling in the trees and every so often, some poor creature issued a death cry moments before complete silence. Edward wasn’t concerned about them though. He still had his wrist blades, after all.

“How did you become captain?” Edward finally asked, breaking the silence between them.

There was a long pause before James spoke. He was very clearly thinking about the question and his response. “Why do you want to know?”

Edward sat up and turned around to sit facing James, who mirrored his position. His face was tight with wary concern. How many people had asked this question in hopes of finding an exploitable weakness? Edward raised his hands and showed James his empty palms. “I’m merely curious. It can’t have been easy for one so young to become so accomplished and respected by his men.” Edward spoke only the truth. Most pirate crews had murmurs of dissent and threats of mutiny but there was never an indication that Kidd’s men were anything less than satisfied.

“Much the same as you,” James responded. “I found men with no place left to go, whose souls were crying out for a purpose.”

Edward frowned at that answer. He looked into the fire, unable to meet James’s eyes, which were insisting upon something more than his words said. He rubbed his mouth with his thumb and said, “Gold is a purpose, but in my experience it only satisfies them for so long. There must be more to it.”

“We’re men that stand for something, Kenway.”

He had to look at that. He had to. Even though James’s black eyes and serious face seemed to melt him guiltily into the sand, Edward couldn’t look away. “The assassins,” he accused.

“No,” James insisted. “The assassins are just men like any others. Me and my crew stand for the right of men to be able to choose their own destiny. To obey or disobey. To fight or flee. Protecting that right is what keeps us together.”

James grinned. “Of course, the gold doesn’t hurt.”

Edward laughed and ducked his head. It was too close for comfort. He wanted that right and he’d fight to preserve it on his own behalf, but he wanted no part in others expecting him act. He was who he was and that was it. 

“You didn’t answer my question, though. How did you become captain?”

James sighed and leaned back on his hands. “Like many young lads on the sea, I ran away from home. I was just lucky enough to fall under the command of an assassin who showed me how to fight and sail. When he fell in battle, the men needed someone to turn to. I was just there.”

Edward said nothing in response to that. He knew James was downplaying his own skills and his importance. He had to be because pirates, assassin pirates or no, did not follow a man if he was unworthy. The sea turned men into a shrewd lot who treated business like survival and vice versa. If they chose to follow a young boy, make him their captain, then there had to have been more to it. There had to have been. 

“You loved him,” Edward said.

That struck a nerve. A big one too, since James visibly recoiled at it. He reached for his bandanna, which had been drying on the sand next to the fire, and began to tie it around his partially dry hair. 

Edward reached out and put a hand on James’s to stop him from doing it. He gave it a squeeze before letting it drop to the boy’s lap. “It’s alright if you did,” he soothed. “All men have got a soft spot for men who mentored us, the men who would have been fathers if the world had been a kinder place.”

“There’s a way men at sea look at boys,” James began hesitantly. “When you go weeks or months without seeing lady, well, anything can start to look appealing. Especially…”

“Especially boys with feminine features,” Kenway finished when James couldn’t.

James ducked his head in confirmation, unable to say the words aloud. He continued on doggedly, though. “Richard wasn’t like that, though. He was nice to me and showed me how to protect myself. I wasn’t under his protection, or anything like that, he wanted me to be able to stand for myself.”

There was silence for several moments as James clearly reminisced about his time as a young lad, fresh from land with unsteady sea legs. 

“He clearly did right by you,” Edward said at last. James broke from his memories and blinked up at him. He didn’t need Edward’s approval, nor had he gone looking for it. They both knew that. But it didn’t stop the fact that it was appreciated nonetheless.

“Thanks, Kenway.”

“Only saying what’s true, Kidd.”

James was staring at him now, leaning in closer as though studying him intently for the first time ever. That wasn’t the case, clearly. James knew more about Edward than his own mum ever did but he’d maybe this time he’d seen something new.  
“Call me James,” he finally said.

Edward raised his eyebrows. Out here, given names were used only for the closest of friends or family. He put out his hand and replied, “Well, then I suppose you should call me Edward.”

They clasped hands tightly, still regarding one another carefully.

“Edward,” James said, tasting the sound of the name on his lips. He pulled a face and shook his head playfully. “It doesn’t sound right. I think I like Kenway better, it suits you.”

Edward smirked and pointed out that Kidd suited James better than his given name as well, which earned him a hard shove.

“Don’t be a dick. I’m man enough to take you!” James laughed.

With that, James launched himself at Edward, wrapping his head on the crook of an elbow, trying to make him give. Edward managed to break free of the hold and as a result, they ended up wrestling in the sand for a while, trying to prove their manhood at James’s insistence. Every time Edward paused and asked if James wanted to give to his superior weight and strength, James wriggle free and got the upper hand again. Then James broke away and ran unsteadily from the fire across the sand of the beach. He was unsteady and any man would think they’d been into the rum.

“Where are you going?” Edward called laughingly.

James just threw his arms wide and spun in a circle. Once, then twice, before losing his balance and dropping to the sand. “It’s a pirate’s life for me, Kenway,” he confessed dreamily.

“Aye, that it is,” Edward confirmed.


	2. Chapter 2

They eventually returned to the ring of warmth around the fire, driven back by the chill of midnight air. He shivered and his nipples pebbled into hard, tight circles from the cold. Edward had left his shirt back there to dry, after all. Shortly after that, they fell asleep, warm and content on the beach with the Jackdaw floating safely offshore. 

An aching in his bladder eventually woke Kenway a couple of hours later. The moon hung low on the horizon, indicating that dawn was only a short time away. They’d have to make their way back to port soon before their respective crews began to expect that Edward had kidnapped James. Speaking of his fellow captain, Edward glanced down and, for the first time, realized that the warmth pressed against his side was not the supple curves of a tavern wench, but the lean length of James Kidd. He was breathing soft and even with slumber against the skin of Edward’s shoulder. He was so trusting in this moment.

Edward shifted, pulling himself away and out from under James so he could walk off and relieve himself. When he returned, James was pretty much exactly where he’d left him. Edward knew most men would startle awake when something about their environment changed. Only excessive drink would make them dead to the world. It was a matter of safety. One never knew who might sneak up on you in the night with ill intent. Especially in a line of work where betrayal was so common. But James was still fast asleep. Did he always have a bedmate? That could make a man comfortable with the shifts and movements of another. The very thought that James might have a regular bed partner, perhaps one of those lithe assassin women, was disquieting. 

He shoved it aside and instead lay back down in the hollow his body had made for him in the sand. He picked up James’s arm and pulled it over his chest, draping the kid back over his chest. He really made a lovely blanket, especially since his leg followed his arm and draped over him as well. James clung like a barnacle and Edward was more than happy to let him. Their men would be heavy with rum, they wouldn’t miss them until after midday at least.

James shifted closer with a sleepy mumble. He pressed in close the entire length of his body, his hips firmly straddling the side of Edward’s. There was a hardness there that Edward knew well, although he’d only occasionally experienced it like this. He didn’t often have men to warm his bed. Only if he was desperate. Or, in this case, if it was a special occasion with a special man.

Edward rolled over until he was on top of James, pressing the boy’s back into the cool sand. At that, James’s eyes snapped open. He activated one of his wrist blades and was about to threaten Edward with it before his mind caught up. Metal scraped against leather as the blade was withdrawn. James heaved a sleepy sigh of relief and sank back, relaxed under Edward’s weight. “Morning, Kenway,” he mumbled.

“You sleep like the dead,” Edward joked. “I could have killed you three or four times over in the time it took you to wake. Weren’t you going to call me Edward, now?”

James huffed in irritation. “Only you could threaten me and offer the use of your given name in one breath.” He shoved at Edward, encouraging him up and off. Edward didn’t take him up on it and stayed stretched out on top of James, whose body was a far warmer mattress than the sand. He lay his head down on James’s shoulder, returning the favor he’d apparently given through the night.

“Why did you wake me before dawn?” James asked accusingly. He didn’t seem to mind that Edward and his own morning hardness had refused to move away.

Edward laughed and leaned up. “I assure you, it wasn’t my intention but nature called and I had to answer. Once I’m up, I’m up.”

James quirked an eyebrow, no doubt thinking about what kind of ‘up’ Edward was feeling now.

“Not like that,” Edward grinned.

“I don’t know, Kenway. You feel like you’re well and truly up by now.” James shifted underneath him, rolling his hips to the side like he was testing the waters. Edward groaned as the friction fanned the flame of his dormant nighttime desire.

“Don’t start something you don’t want to finish,” he warned, thinking of James’s childhood at sea.

“Who said I didn’t want to finish it?” James challenged.

Edward blinked in surprise and looked down to see of the boy was being serious. He saw nothing except the clear and steady expression of a man who knew exactly what he wanted and was prepared to go after it. 

“Are you certain?” he asked anyway. He had to be sure for both their sakes.

James’s answer was as resounding as any Edward could ever hope for. He surged up with one hand around Edward’s neck and pulled their lips to meet in a rush. With his eyes wedged open in disbelief, all Edward could think about was how dark James’s eyelashes were against his lightly tanned skin. Then it all sank in, he relaxed into the kiss and began moving his lips actively in the kiss, seeking contact with his tongue.

When James opened his mouth and their tongues met, the kiss turned absolutely filthy with desperation. Edward dove into it with all his concentration, exploring the wet folds in his mouth, running the tip of his tongue over hard teeth. James did the same, making the kiss hard, awkward, and uncomfortable for a while. Eventually, though, they settled into a rhythm of give and take, as they did in battle once they stopped trying to one up the other. James would nip at his lips playfully before dipping his tongue between them. Then he’d open himself up as Edward surged forward and claimed a commanding kiss. 

It was heaven on earth, lying on a beach in the hours before dawn, losing himself in the young man. They kissed for ages, learning one another on this new battlefield. When Edward’s hands drifted and encountered a cotton shirt instead of bare skin, he sat up straddling James’s waist and pulled the boy upright.

“This needs to come off,” he insisted roughly, pulling on the fabric.

James lifted his arms, his eyes never leaving Edward’s face. The shirt came easily, ruffling his black hair even more than it had been. Edward threw the shirt aside and tangled his fingers in the messy black mop. He pushed up and around, delighted by its disarray. Then he kissed James’s lips again. They were getting red from the abuse.

Despite some of his slightly more feminine attributes, underneath his bulky clothing, James was distinctly male. He had a defined arms and a strong chest that tapered into a narrow waist. He fit nicely between Edward’s larger thighs. And the way he squeezed Edward’s hips before mapping out his own chest was extremely erotic. He had rough, calloused hands that were slightly more like a climber’s than a sailor’s. They were slightly more like Edwards, who couldn’t resist and pulled the hand up so he could suck on one of the slender digits.

“I want you to make me come,” James said confidently, staring at the disappearance of his fingers between Edward’s lips. “Now.”

All of a sudden, James scrambled backwards, out from under Edward. He stood up and began to undo his trousers. His fingers were charmingly clumsy on the tie because he was still too busy staring at Edward’s face to pay attention. So Edward helped him, of course. He untied them with a grin playing on his lips that only widened when James threw his head back groaned up his final release.

His cock was much like the rest of him, slender and solid. It curved upwards from a thatch of black curls, as unruly as the hair on top of his head. Edward dug his fingers into this hair as well. If his hand happened to wrap around the base of his cock, well, that was just a happy accident.

“Fuck, Kenway.” James was breathing heavily. “You next.”

“Gladly,” Edward growled, too far gone to tease James about the use of his last name.

He shot to his feet. James had his hand on him the moment he got there. His fingers were still clumsy but Edward indulged his enthusiasm, taking pleasure in the way James’s efforts pulled and tugged on his trousers, which in turn pulled and tugged on his erection. But he took more pleasure in it when they were finally shoved down over his ass, freeing his cock so that it sprung up and smacked against his lower belly.

James licked his lips, looking down between their bodies at the way their cocks curved up next to one another with the foreskin pulled back, revealing bright red heads that were both wet. 

“What do you want to do?” Edward whispered.

His gaze was haunting. He knew exactly what it was Edward was trying to get at. Would James allow himself to be penetrated? Edward was simply trying to be kind about it, knowing that if there had been bad experiences in James’s past, they would like just do other things. But James didn’t appear to be angry. Just intense. 

He held out his wrists, clad still in the leather brace for the wrist blades of an assassin. Edward looked at him questioningly until he finally said, “Take them off.”

It was something of a show of trust, Edward assumed, to allow oneself to be disarmed like this. Most of his affairs were quick in the dark of night with barely the need to take of his clothes, much less his wrist blades. He’d only had them for a couple of years now and already felt naked when he removed them. It was no doubt the same for James, who’d had them for much longer still. 

He moved slowly but confidently to loosen the ties and slip the wrist blades free. First the right hand, then the left. But it wasn’t until he offered his own up for removal that he understood how profoundly erotic the experience was. His palm was pressed against the inside of James’s forearm where the skin was so much softer. James stretched his arm, pulled it closer into his space. His fingertips brushed against Edward’s own forearms. The skin was far more sensitive than he’d ever given much thought to. It sent shivers up his arm and made his stomach clench. His wrists were freed, the blades set aside, but James wrapped his hands around Edward’s wrists after only moments. Skin that had become desensitized by the constant press of leather suddenly came alive as calloused palms brushed back and forth over it. He did the same for James, who gasped in delight and slumped forward against Edward’s chest. 

“Now, Edward,” James demanded.

Edward tipped them back onto the sand, shocking because it was still cold against their fevered skin. They’d surely return to port chafed in sensitive places because of all the damned sand but Edward could be bothered enough to stop. He pressed his hand against the side of James’s face but it was James who sucked his fingers into his mouth. 

He groaned and dropped his forehead to rest against James’s sternum. He huffed a couple of times, trying not to imagine how those skilled, wicked lips would feel wrapped around his cock and not his fingers. Instead he tried to focus on licking and pulling on dusky pink nipples. James sucked on his fingers harder, which he assumed meant he liked it. Edward canted his hips, causing their erections to slide against one another. With a flick of his tongue, James released Edward’s fingers and spread his legs.

“Now,” he demanded again, this time more harshly.

Edward wasted no time shifting his weight and snaking his hand down between their bodies. James hitched his legs up, granting him easy access. He teased only for a moment, twirling his fingers around the pucker to his entrance. But he could feel the spit drying on his fingers already. He’d have to tease later, when they were in port with plenty of oil to ease the way. So he drove his fingers in. 

James went taught and arched like a bow. His face was screwed up in pain and concentration. Pain was a rather unfortunate part of this. Edward didn’t want to hurt him but he was tough, he knew it would happen when he insisted they do this. They’d just have to work the tension out of him.

Edward kept his fingers still for a moment until some of the tension eased. The tight grip his body had on his fingers began to relent minutely. It was only then that Edward began to pull them in and out slowly. He worked James patiently, drawing out the breaths until James was gasping and his hole fluttered around him. He was as ready as he was going to get for the moment so Edward pulled his fingers out.

He ducked in and claimed a kiss. He made it messy with a wide open mouth and lots of tongue. It soothed James and worked a great deal of spit, which they’d desperately need. So when he pulled away and spit into his palm, there was plenty to transfer to his cock. It gleamed anxiously in the low light before dawn. 

Edward paused. “You ready?”

James glared up at him, shoved him, and maneuvered him onto his back in the blink of an eye. “Of course I am,” he said. He looked like royalty sitting on a throne. But at the moment he was straddling Edward’s hips with a hand on his dick, ready to sink down onto it. And sink down he did.

They both shut their eyes at it. James in pain and Edward in overwhelming pleasure. He rested his hands on the swell of James’s ass, waiting for permission to move into that heat. James lay his chest down against Edwards. “Go,” he breathed. “Now.”

Edward flipped them back over so he had James back against the beach. Then he began to move, thrusting his hips in earnest and chasing a long due orgasm. James clutched at his shoulders, gasping with every shove. Edward wanted to know if James was finding pleasure in this at all. His eyes were fuzzy. He couldn’t tell. He shifted his weight onto one arm and reached between them without stopping his movement. He was almost relieved to feel that James was still hard. He was determined to make this good for the both of them. Edward wanted a repeat performance. 

Sitting back on his heels, Edward pulled James further into his lap with his legs over Edward’s shoulders. From this position, Edward could look down the entire length of James’s body while he thrusted into it.

“You are beautiful and wild,” Edward told him. “Like the sea.”

It was a confession that went deeper than admiration of his body. By the look in his eyes, James had understood that. Edward was admitting a fondness that was akin to the value of his own freedom, which he always saw when he looked upon the water. James was a kind of freedom all his own and it was a kind that Edward felt he’d protect as fiercely as any other.

Hands stretched out towards his face. Edward buried his face into the palms, willing them to hold him together as sweat began to pour down his sides. His hips didn’t stop moving and pushing, even though he’d begun to feel a twinge in his lower back from the strain. He didn’t stop because now he could feel a faint throbbing under his thumb. James was close. His dick was twitching and ready to spill. Edward spit into his palm again, this time not a generously, and went to work on James, rubbing up and down on his cock. 

James watched him closely the entire time, closing his eyes only when he reached completion and was forced to throw his head back in order to deal with it. Edward followed only moment afterwards, with his own eyes clamped shut.

They rested there for a while, breathing heavily and trying to regain their bearings. James’s hips slipped off but he remained there with his knees up and legs spread, everything on display unselfconsciously. “That was amazing,” he finally sighed, one hand flopped on his stomach lazily. 

Edward pulled out with a grunt of agreement. He fell onto his back next to James, aware of his damp cock which would attract sand uncomfortably if he laid down on top of James like he really wanted to. 

“I bet it’s better in a bed,” he asserted, slyly hoping they’d get to do it again. Next time with oil.

“Oh I’m sure,” James drawled. “But we’ll have to try it out just to make sure.” His grin was wicked, Edward couldn't help but kiss it away.


End file.
